October 31, 2023 · 23:27

Halloween 2023

We live at the top of a hill. A big hill. A really steep hill. This is one of the key reasons that we have, in five or six Halloweens here, gotten maybe one or two trick-or-treaters, TOTAL.

It’s sad. At the old house on Pomelo we were on flat ground, near the local elementary school, and we would take out the telescopes in the front yard when possible and let folks look at whatever was up while we handed out candy. We got hundreds of trick-or-treaters every year. If it were cloudy and we didn’t have the telescopes out we would have people all night asking where they were.

Here? This year, as busy as I am, I didn’t even have the time or effort to put out a single Halloween decoration. Nor did a single house anywhere climbing up the hill. Plenty of lights and inflatables and gigantic spiders and 12′ skeletons and some really nice displays down on the flat streets at the bottom of the hill. But get up past the first two or three houses? Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Except for the owls. They were in the spirit of the holiday! Two of them, right across the street, with a third way off in the distance down the canyon.

Being NaNoWriMo Eve, the other question is whether or not I’m going to be stupid enough to try it again. As mentioned, I’m busier than dog, and while I’m finally at a point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (I think, could be an oncoming train) on a couple of major projects that I’ve been working on for months, there are others that are just starting up.

Curiously, I’ve seen this diagram popping up from a couple of different folks on social media in the last week:

(No idea who created this.)

I see nothing inaccurate about this. It would be wise to pay attention.

So, of course, there’s about a 90% chance that I’ll at least start a NaNoWriMo project tomorrow. My odds of completing it are about the same as the odds of winning the lottery. But I can’t do it if I don’t get started, so I’ll probably get started.

May the odds be always in my favor?

 

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Filed under Audio, Birds, Writing

October 30, 2023 · 22:51

Which Way The Wind Blows

Gee, can you figure out which way the 40-50 mph winds are blowing?

I wish I could get frequent flier miles for the BBQ, lawn chairs, and empty trash cans out in the back yard.

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Filed under Photography, Weather

October 29, 2023 · 23:27

The Wind & A Surprise Hummingbird

The Santa Ana winds are blowing – we’ve had gusts pushing 40 mph here for about the last 24 hours and in the next 24 hours there’s a possibility we’ll get them up to 50 or even 60 mph. The BBQ and some backyard chairs and empty trash cans have been repeatedly scattered, retrieved, and scattered again. As long as they don’t end up vanishing from the yard and disappearing toward Malibu, I’m just going to leave them for now and worry about it later in the week.

I went outside to take a thirty-second video, which turned out much longer when I got a visitor. I completely didn’t realize that I was standing directly underneath Little Bastard’s hummingbird feeder…

The perspective on the iPhone video is deceptive, in part because I started holding it down around waist height. The bottom of the feeder is only about an inch above my head, and when the hummingbird is flying the buzzing sound is LOUD. You can hear it a little bit in the video, but in real life it sounds like the biggest bee or wasp you’ve ever imagined is two inches from your ear.

I expected him to fly away as soon as I started moving my arm with the camera (sloooooowly…) and at least three times he does fly away, but only a couple feet, then he comes back. Once he finally flew away at the end and I stopped recording and left, he was back at the feeder in just a few seconds. I’m guessing that with the very, very low humidity, the wind, and all of the work he was doing flying around in the wind, he was really, REALLY hungry and taking a chance on me being a danger was a chance he had to take. Again – a guess.

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Filed under Birds, Video

October 28, 2023 · 23:13

The Moon & Jupiter – 27 Days Later

On October 1st I had pictures from when the Moon was very close to Jupiter in the sky. It’s now 27 days later and Jupiter has moved a little bit toward the west. Meanwhile the Moon has gone all the way around, getting  in front of the sun two weeks ago in an annualar eclipse (partial here in LA) and now being back near Jupiter.

As before, the Moon is so bright that even at my DSLR’s fastest shutter speed (1/4000th second) it’s slightly washed out and overexposed. Meanwhile, Jupiter, in the lower right corner, can barely be seen at that exposure, despite being the fourth brightest object in the sky right now, behind the Sun, Moon,  and Venus.

How amazing is the human eye with its ability to clearly see the major details of the Moon, lava plains and huge craters and mountain ridges, while simultaneously seeing Jupiter clearly as the bright object it is.

Go take a look. Or tomorrow. (Assuming your sky is clear, of course. If you’re getting 12 inches of snow or it’s pouring rain, make snowballs or get inside!)

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography

October 27, 2023 · 23:08

Rainbow Over Southampton

I took advantage of a sort of a spur of the moment opportunity today. I was at the office to take care of an IT thing and only a mile or so from the Kaiser Permanente campus where I get 99% of my medical care. The Long-Suffering Wife had told me that they had a walk-in clinic for flu shots and the new COVID vaccine, so I swung by and found that to be true. I got both.

For the record, aside from the tiniest bit of aching in my arm (mainly only if I touch it, so DON’T TOUCH IT!) there are just about zero side effects. As they say, Your Mileage May Vary, but no fever, no chills, no aches, no nausea, no headache, no anything.

But that spontaneous adjustment to my schedule and the adjustments that I’ve made to free time just in case, on top of the healthy doses of stress and angst from the freakin’ world, plus the usual time pressures from *LIFE*, plus just plain getting old…

It all adds up. I might be a bit verklempt tonight, short a few functioning brain cells. In need of a pick me up.

As is often the case, especially when I’m looking for a prompt or thought for my daily post here, I go flipping at random through old pictures. And also as is often the case, my muse doesn’t let me down.

From a dozen years ago, in Southampton, wandering around town taking pictures in some scattered light showers:

Get your flu shot. Get the updated COVID vaccine. Wear a mask. Look for rainbows. Smile!

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Filed under CoronaVirus, Health, Photography, Travel, Weather

October 26, 2023 · 23:10

No Context For You – October 26th

The things we take for granted…

Something works. Then it doesn’t. And it’s a pain to fix it.

No matter how careful or skilled we are, even “fixed” it’s not quite the same. It’s close, and you’re grateful to not have to deal with the moderate to severe issues from when it was broken.

You probably don’t even notice it at first. Because it was “fixed!” If something were still seriously off, well, then you would keep working on it. Until it’s “fixed!”

But at some point you realize that it’s not the same. Maybe the health app on your phone or watch gives you an odd, totally unexpected notice. Maybe the door that used to swing shut tightly with just a feather touch now needs to have some pressure applied to shut and stay shut.

So you adjust. Or maybe you just realize that you’ve already adjusted, you just didn’t realize how much until your phone gives you an odd, totally unexpected notice.

Aware now, coming into tune with the new reality which you didn’t ask for, you pick up your pace, you learn new habits, you start pushing that door, you try to keep the health app on your watch happy.

Or at least, happier.

And you move on. With the occasional, wistful thought for the way it was before. When the things we took for granted were there, and not replaced with the adjustments and compensating habits.

All of which we’ll soon take for granted.

 

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Filed under Deep Thoughts, Paul, Photography

October 25, 2023 · 22:36

Painted Ladies

It’s not the huge swarm that have hit a couple times in the past two years, but the three or four at a time groups of painted lady butterflies seem to be far more tolerant of folks standing out in the yard with cameras looking for Northern Flickers.

Two in particular were landing on the ground near me while others flittered about. They would only stay put for a few seconds, but every time they landed they were getting closer.

They were landing on the dirt, just before sunset, and didn’t seem to be landing on flowers or plants and eating.

Once on the ground they would spread their wings like this, back to the setting Sun. Warming themselves? Drying their wings?

I think they’re migrating south from the Pacific Northwest toward Mexico and Central America, according to a couple of articles about them in the local papers.

Whatever. It’s still far better to be watching them than to be watching the news and reading social media.

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Filed under Critters, Photography

October 24, 2023 · 23:31

Fine Feathered Friends – October 24th

Not common, but a return visitor. I spotted this guest last January, and I’ve heard it a couple of times in the last week. The Northern Flicker is back!

See it? Neither did I. But what I heard was a tapping or knocking sound directly overhead. I thought it might be one of the downy woodpeckers we see here every once in a while, but nope! Just above center, on a bare branch, is a much larger bird.

The yellowish belly with all of those spots! That black, crescent-shaped arc under its chin! It’s our red-shafted Northern Flicker, back for a refill of SoCal bugs, and I have just the dead branches for it!

Is this the exact same bird as was here in January? I don’t know. Maybe? Probably? We have other migratory birds (the juncos, some of the hummingbirds, the yellow-headed blackbird) that seem to be the same ones coming back year after year, but as I’ve noted before, I can’t get any of them to wear nametags or sign in on the guest register, so it’s a guessing game.

I unfortunately didn’t have my “good” camera (the DSLR with the telephoto lens) with me, just my cell phone. As has been said, the best camera is the one you have with you.

Look at that beak! It makes it obvious that it’s a large member of the woodpecker family, doesn’t it?

I’ll try to remember to carry my DSLR when I go out, just in case, and I’ll keep and eye out for the chance to get some better pictures.

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Filed under Birds, Photography

October 23, 2023 · 21:48

Falcon 9 Launch From Vandenberg

I’ve shared a number of pictures and (I think) one or two videos from when SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, 115 miles to the northwest. They’re amazing when they’re right after sunset, pretty cool in the middle of the night, and a “challenge” to capture on film or video.

But I have a Nest security camera looking at the front porch. What does it see?

Here’s your generic, normal, daylight view, looking northwest-ish. Where’s Vandenberg? On the lefthand side, in the distance just to the right of that support pillar with the flag, you can see the northern flank of Castle Peak. There’s a bit of sloping hillside there between the pillar and the trees where the red-tailed hawks hang out (and attack me).

Watch there…

First a full-frame view, then zoomed in.

Hmmm, how to improve this? Probably easier to move the camera than to chop down that support pillar. Besides, if I hack away at that sucker I’ll NEVER get my security deposit back!

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Filed under Castle Willett, Photography, Space, Video

October 22, 2023 · 23:08

Observe The Moon

Yesterday was National Observe The Moon Night, an annual event around this time of year when the Moon is at or near First Quarter phase. That means it will be up high in the early evening and easy for folks to see without having to stay up late or get up early. There will be a nice terminator line to bring some contrast to craters, plains, and mountains.

But you can still observe the Moon tonight. Or tomorrow. Or any day you want. I encourage it!

Maybe you have a small telescope. Or even binoculars. Either will do a far better job of bringing out details than anything used by Galileo or Newton. Watch how the shadows change the view and appearance across the big craters from day to day.

Or you can just watch with the naked eye. Find a grassy spot or a lawn chair. Just lay there and watch for a few minutes every now and then. (Remember bug spray!)

And one of these days you’ll be able to watch and know that there are men and women living up there, the same way you can watch the ISS go overhead and know there are people living and working there.

Observe the Moon. One day it will be observing you back.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography